


At the End of the Dock

by 12tigersharkevin



Category: Septiplier - Fandom, Video Blogging RPF, youtube - Fandom
Genre: AU, Ambiguous/Open Ending, M/M, Manipulation, Siren, Siren!Jack, Sleep Deprivation, mermaid
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-23
Updated: 2018-10-23
Packaged: 2019-08-06 04:21:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,576
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16381280
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/12tigersharkevin/pseuds/12tigersharkevin
Summary: A man who lives by the sea has been hearing a strange, unsettling song every night for the past week. Tonight, he plans to do something about it.





	At the End of the Dock

**Author's Note:**

> What do you mean it isn't Mer-May anymore???

At first, it had been a quiet summer night. Relief washing over the man who lived by the sea as he opened the window, letting in the cool ocean breeze. The soft wind brushing his hair back and carrying in the once-familiar sound of waves rolling on to the sand and rocks. It had been about a week since the last time he was able to enjoy the sounds of the beach.

 

For the past several nights, Mark was only able to hear what could be considered to be a song. The song tended to shift throughout the night. Sometimes, the song would sound like agonizing moans, other times the singers would howl the words, and sometimes it would sound similar to rusted squeaks and creaks of an old machine. Its loud, unnerving singer would make sleeping nearly impossible for the man, and the effect of the song was even worse than going without sleep. If Mark managed to fall asleep while listening to the song, he would find himself out on the ocean, surrounded by moving dark shadows. Sometimes, he would have a raft for support, but usually, he would be left treading water. The figures would circle just out of reach of him. If he tried to swim away, the disturbing figures would suddenly close their distances and Mark would be dragged under, choking on water until he woke.

 

Though, the man was certain that he wouldn’t be plagued with another song tonight. Twilight had been hours ago, and the singer would often start an hour at most after the sun left the sky.  Usually, by this point, Mark would be dealing with the singer howling lyrics he couldn’t comprehend. 

 

Practically skipping while making his way to his bed, Mark flopped down on to the mattress and rolled over to face the opposite wall. With a peaceful night like this one, the man would have no problem succumbing to sleep. 

 

However, as he was just about to drift into slumber, he heard it. The song from the sea. The distorted shambles of sound, indecipherable words, and a noise that couldn’t possibly be human.

 

That was it! Swiftly lifting himself out of bed, Mark got to his feet and closed the window. 

It would only muffle the song, but it allowed him to focus easier on the task at hand. He also retrieved ear muffs and a flashlight from his nightstand. The ear muffs were just as useful as closing the window. They made the noise less grating for Mark’s already weak state of mind, but they didn’t protect him the effect of the songs. He had tried for at least four nights with different methods to cover his ears, and none of them could block the song completely. Mark was fairly certain that the song was somehow in his head.

 

He needed to put an end to this. Mark couldn’t take another night of restless sleep or terrifying nightmares. He couldn’t take this torture any longer. Another night without sleep would surely destroy whatever sanity he still had left. Even if Mark had hoped that the song would stop, he had been expecting to get up. He slipped on his shoes that had been left close by and grabbed the donated  handgun  that was left by his door. After seven nights, tonight was the night Mark was going to go to the end of the dock to put an end to his madness. With his weapon, he would either prove himself mad or scare off whatever plagued him. The man hoped it would be the former.

  
  


Making his way out of his house and down to the shore, the man had a moment of clarity to think about his strange situation. Mark had lived in his home by the sea for years, and he never had a problem like this one. A paranoid part of him believed it was all to blame on a recent boating trip he had been on with friends. 

 

Despite living close to the ocean, Mark had never enjoyed being out on the water. Until that trip, It had been almost a decade since he had been on a boat.  His friends just barely managing to convince Mark to come along to visit a beautiful island that wasn’t far from the coast. 

 

Overall, the trip went fine. The only problem was when the boat got stuck. Everyone, including Mark, had to get into the water to get the small ship moving again. Because they were stuck and because it was daylight, the man had managed to brave going into the open sea, but he dread every second of it. While in the water, surrounded by friends, Mark couldn’t shake the feeling of something sinister lurking below the surface.

 

A crazy part of Mark, a part he didn’t want to acknowledge, thought he might be dealing with a siren. It was the reason why he had his weapon. The sane part of him was just waiting for him to go to the end of the dock and prove to himself that he was just going mad. The idea of Mark finding out he’s only crazy was oddly more comforting to him than dealing with a singing sea creature.

Twice, he walked up and down the beach to search for where the song was coming from but found nothing. He even went so far as to stand knee deep in the water. Still, there was nothing around. Mark only had one last place left to look. Standing on the first board of the dock, Mark was already feeling light headed. The source of the song is at the end of it. Mark knew it. 

On any other night, Mark wouldn’t dare go near the edge of the dock. His fear of the dark sea wouldn’t let him, but his determination and desperation drowned out any dread that tried to rise in the man's mind.

Coming to the end of the dock, the song was at its peak volume. Mark’s legs were shaking, and he worried he might fall. A couple of times, Mark had stumbled from how light-headed he’d felt while walking. Stopping a foot away from the end, the man knelt down to steady his breathing. He put down his flashlight and took out his weapon then slowly got to his feet. Gazing down into the dark water, Mark spots two green lights peering at him. A siren.

 

Realizing what he was seeing, Mark quickly took aim. His hands shaking with fear and the failure of his motor skills from the lack of sleep. The green lights disappeared and the sea fell silent. Mark was completely startled by the lack of noise that he lowered his weapon. Returning his gun to his side, the man retrieved his flashlight. He shined his flashlight over the water, but it didn’t pierce the surface.

Suddenly, a man slowly rose from the water, and Mark couldn’t stop a frightened noise from slipping out as he backed away. Short, wet, green hair clung to the stranger’s face, obscuring his vision and his features. Strangely, Mark swore he heard a grumble of annoyance from the stranger as he pushed his bangs back. When the man started opening his eyes, he quickly covered his face with one webbed hand, wincing and hissing. With the stranger’s mouth open, Mark caught a glimpse of sharp teeth. 

Realizing the light from the flashlight was blinding the poor fellow, Mark quickly pointed it lower. If this person was a siren, then he definitely lacked the grace, mystic, or intimidation Mark had been expecting. Weren’t all sirens beautiful woman, the man absently thought to himself. Then again, Mark had never been able to place if the singer was male or female from how distorted the vocals were. At this point, Mark wasn’t sure what to expect.

With the light lower, the siren moved his hand from his face. The stranger appeared to be close in age to Mark. Finally able to open his eyes, the siren revealed his bright blue irises. Even without the help of the flashlight, his eyes seemed to glow. He stared up and into Mark, causing the human to shiver. The siren tilted his head, curiously.

Somehow, Mark felt relaxed by the lack of singing and the sight of the man. As if putting a harmless face to the source of what has been haunting him had finally put his mind at ease. He wasn’t crazy.

However, wasn’t a siren worse than being crazy?

 

“Wh-Wha… What are you?” Mark managed to get out once past his initial thoughts. The stranger suddenly smiled in such a way that showed true delight. Mark was so surprised by the drastic change in expression that all he could think was that it was a lovely smile.

 

Without warning, the man’s eyes started to glow again. Although, instead of green like before, his eyes were pink. He began to sing a different song, with a new voice. 

 

The new voice brought Mark’s attention to how inhuman the first song had sounded. For the past week, he could never place what the owner of the voice could be, which allowed his mind to think it was a monster. While this song and voice clearly belong to the man in the water, Mark assumed.  Because of the differences between the songs, Mark felt like the song was dedicated to him. It made him feel special. It made him feel light and happy, better than he felt in a long time. His mind couldn’t place a time when he felt like this.

 

Lost in thought, Mark’s grip on his flashlight loosened, causing it to slip through his fingers and fall onto the dock. Both men were startled by the clattering sounds that followed. The siren made a quiet yelp and moved back a little in the water. No longer singing, his eyes ceased glowing.

 

The two stared at the fallen appliance. Mark sensed anxiety settling in his mind, and he wasn’t certain if it was from the awkward silence or the lack of captivating music. He didn’t have much time to consider which it was before the silence was broken by laughter. It was soft at first. A snicker that the siren seemed to be trying to stop. Yet, the snicker soon became a chuckle and then a full laugh. With the light facing away from the siren, Mark could only see the man’s silhouette and hear his happy laugh. His discomfort subsiding with only the laughing to focus on. Eventually, Mark was laughing too.

 

Easing to a crouch position, Mark scooped up the flashlight, slipping it into his pocket. However, he found his legs were sore when he tried to stand up, which result in him flopping back down on to his butt. The siren giggled some more. Mark could feel his cheeks heating up. Not wanting to try standing again, Mark adjusted to sit.

His feet nearing the edge of the dock, Mark had a moment of hesitation as his fear surfaced. All his nightmares of being grabbed by his legs and dragged down reminded him of the danger of being too close to the water. As the man was beginning to become lost in his worries, the siren went back to singing. His eyes glowing pink once again and the soft color illuminated his kind smile. Relaxed by the song and brought out of his thoughts, Mark found himself eases his legs off the dock. A feat he would rarely do during the day and never do at night. He slipped off his headphone to hear the singer more clearly.

When the siren finished his song, his eyes went back to normal and his features fell back into the shadows. Once more, the feeling of anxiety was returning to Mark with the stillness.  He reached for the flashlight to at least alleviate one fear.  This time, a splash from below him broke the silence, and Mark could just barely make out the outstretched hand that was being offered to him. The moonlight shining off the outline of the siren’s arm and hand.

Without thinking, Mark reached for the hand before stopping just out of reach. His hand left a few inches away from the stranger. There was another moment of hesitation as his brain reminded him of his current situation. This was a siren. It would be insane of him to trust it. It would be insane to get into the water. He needed to go back home. The hand that had been reaching for the flashlight moved instead for his weapon.

 

While Mark was caught up in his fear, the man in the water remained where he was. His hand still outstretched. He made no attempt to grab the other man. Noticing how close his hand was, Mark swiftly pulled it back to his side. A whimper was heard when he pulled his hand away. It happened so quickly and quietly, Mark wasn’t sure at first that the sound had come from the siren, but there was no other source for it.

Bring his hand back to his pocket, the man took out his flashlight, facing it on to the man in the water. The siren winced from the light shown on to him, but he was less phased by it than before. His one hand remaining out to Mark while his other hand shielded his eyes a little. Despite the flashlight clearly irritating him, the siren kept his eyes on the other man. He wore a weak smile. His blue eyes showed both confusion and a hint of worry.

Was that disappointment?  

Mark abruptly felt very guilty. The man placed his flashlight on to the dock. The light pointed just above the stranger’s head, allowing Mark to avoid seeing the siren’s expression. Yet, it didn’t do much to ease how he felt. For some reason, he didn’t want to disappoint him.

Mark pulled his legs up on to the dock, causing another whimper from the siren, but he ignored it as he took off his shoes and ear muffs, placing them to the side. Turning his body back toward the stranger, he took the offered hand, easing eased himself off the dock.  The siren made what sounded like a happy chirp and helped to support Mark into the water. 

Something felt right about what the man was doing.  The guilt disappearing from his mind as most of his body disappeared under the water. The sand was too low for the man to stand, forcing him to tread water. Mark kept one hand on the last plank of the dock. Fear of being dragged under was still there in his thoughts. Though, he didn’t think holding on would help if the siren decided to yank him down.

The siren didn’t move. His focus appeared to be not on the man, but the dock.

Following the siren’s gaze, Mark spotted his flashlight. Somehow understanding what the stranger wanted, He used his hand that was already up there to knock the flashlight into the water. The two watched the flashlight disappear once it sunk below the surface. 

The two only had the moon for lighting now and yet, Mark didn’t feel scared or anxious. He took his hand off the dock, finding the siren’s other hand in the water.

With a nod back to the other, Mark and the siren slowly descend into the sea.

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> I haven't decided if I wanted to continue this, so for the time being, its a one-shot.


End file.
